Thursday, January 5, 2017

Hooligan's Wake Up: Feghouli red card overturned by FA

Thus ends Chelsea's win streak at 13 matches, which has them level with Arsenal for the Premier League record. They are still comfortable on top of the pile, though. They are five points clear of second place Liverpool. Spurs, meanwhile, are into the top four after this win helps them jump Arsenal and Manchester City into third place.

Real Madrid are now unbeaten in 38 matches, which is one short of the record run for a La Liga team.

Headlines
In a rare moment of justice, the FA has overturned the red card handed out to West Ham's Sofiane Feghouli in Monday's loss agaisnt Manchester United. The midfielder was sent off in the 15th minute for an aggressive challenge on United's Phil Jones. As a result, the Hammers played for 75 minutes with only ten men and fell 2-0, in part thanks to a horribly offside goal for United. West Ham was a threatening team in the match despite the manpower disadvantage. It makes me wonder if they could have scratched out a draw, or even a win, had the red card not come out in the first place.

In a semi-related story, Manchester City's Fernandinho has had his red card appeal rejected. He was sent off for a two-footed tackled on Monday against Burnley. It was his third red of the season and comes with a hefty four match ban.

LA Galaxy forward Mike Magee has announced his retirement after 14 seasons in MLS. He has a couple accolades to go along with his all American career. He won a pair of MLS Cups in 2011 and 2012 and was named MVP in 2013. He also spent time with the New York MetroStars, Chicago Fire, and Saint Louis FC in the USL. He scored 70 regular season goals and eight in the playoffs.